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Brooks Koepka says he\u2019s \u201csuper grateful\u201d to be back on the PGA Tour.\u00a0 Orlando Ramirez, Getty Images<\/p>\n\t\t\t\tBrooks Koepka says he\u2019s \u201csuper grateful\u201d to be back on the PGA Tour.\u00a0 Orlando Ramirez, Getty Images<\/p>\n
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | As the late January sun glistened off the Pacific Ocean on a cloudless, 70-degree Tuesday, Torrey Pines was practically showing off in advance of the Farmers Insurance Open that begins Thursday.<\/p>\n
While much of the country shivers and digs out of winter\u2019s most recent and enduring blast, this spot of southern California clifftops and seaside is \u2013 at least for the next few days \u2013 a spectacular stage for the most anticipated moment of this still young season.<\/p>\n
At 9:32 a.m. PST Thursday, Brooks Koepka will begin his first PGA Tour event since 2022, playing alongside Ludvig \u00c5berg and Max Homa on Torrey Pines\u2019 South Course. It\u2019s been less than three weeks since Koepka was allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour after his three years at LIV Golf and if the expectations for his performance are muted, the interest level is not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it feels a little bit different. I\u2019m definitely a little bit more nervous this week just coming back. But it feels good. I\u2019m super grateful to be back,\u201d Koepka said Tuesday morning in his first media session since rejoining the tour.<\/p>\n
Koepka seems vulnerable as he approaches the Farmers Insurance Open. If Koepka is not vulnerable, he is at least a little uncomfortable as he reconnects not only with players he hasn\u2019t seen in a while but having the eyes and ears of the game leaning in to see how he handles his public re-entry to the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
No one has done what Koepka is doing. Others may follow but, for the moment, he is the one and only.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a little like returning to work at a place you\u2019d been before, left for a better offer and then decided what you had was pretty good to begin with. In fact, it\u2019s almost exactly that.<\/p>\n
Familiarity with Torrey Pines and dozens of players who were there when Koepka left and are here for his return smooths the path but this is a first-of-its-kind moment. For all of the self-confidence and swagger that defined his five major championship victories, Koepka seems vulnerable as he approaches the Farmers Insurance Open.<\/p>\n
If Koepka is not vulnerable, he is at least a little uncomfortable as he reconnects not only with players he hasn\u2019t seen in a while but having the eyes and ears of the game leaning in to see how he handles his public re-entry to the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
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Hideki Matsuyama (right) greets Brooks Koepka during Tuesday\u2019s practice round before the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Orlando Ramirez, Getty Images<\/p>\n
Part of it is because of his five major championship victories. The other part, perhaps the bigger part, is because Koepka took LIV Golf\u2019s millions then decided to pay whatever it cost to return to the PGA Tour, the first rebel to come back.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to cast Koepka\u2019s story as a competitive pursuit but, without him going into the details, it is clear that family life drove the change. Having his wife Jena (who announced last fall that she had suffered a miscarriage) and their 2-year old son, Crew, nearby \u2013 they are at Torrey Pines this week \u2013 will be easier than traveling the globe playing LIV\u2019s far-flung schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot\u2019s gone on over the past five, six months with my family. That played a big role into coming back,\u201d Koepka said.<\/p>\n
According to reports, Koepka had one year remaining on his LIV contract and after speaking with its leadership to explain his desire to leave, the league allowed him to go. Koepka had no assurance he would be able to return to the PGA Tour quickly but new CEO Brian Rolapp fast-tracked the process, bringing Koepka back to Torrey Pines this week.<\/p>\n
When Koepka was granted his release from LIV on Dec. 23, he immediately called Tiger Woods to talk about his options.<\/p>\n
The thought process that led to this moment began last fall, Koepka said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe it was September, right around the Ryder Cup week, we had to be in New York, we were up there for a little bit. Circumstances kind of changed in my family a little bit,\u201d Koepka said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen that\u2019s when I guess things started to change and evolve and just started to have those conversations of what\u2019s best for my family.\u00a0 So we took it from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Koepka was granted his release from LIV on Dec. 23, he immediately called Tiger Woods to talk about his options.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had a good relationship with Tiger \u2026 that was what I wanted to do. Once I had the opportunity to I guess get reinstated on the PGA Tour, it was exciting and kind of really didn\u2019t know what to do. [Woods] was the first person that kind of came to mind,\u201d Koepka said.<\/p>\n
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Koepka, shown on the fourth tee during Tuesday\u2019s practice round, admits to being \u201ca little bit more nervous this week.\u201d Orlando Ramirez, Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know Brian, I didn\u2019t have a relationship with him obviously just because he\u2019s pretty new. And Jay [Monahan] was going to be the next call. I felt like Tiger was somebody that I\u2019ve relied on in the past for questions and answers and how to deal with things and I felt like that was maybe the most comfortable call for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koepka has been open about his nervousness this week. He got through one part of it Tuesday morning, taking questions about his decision in an extended media session, stressing the importance of being with his family while also talking about regaining the form that made him the player to beat in majors for several years.<\/p>\n
There is also the matter of reacquainting himself with players, some of whom he knows have reservations about how the process played out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to put an excuse on anything else other than I\u2019m the one holding the club, I\u2019m the one who\u2019s got to execute everything and I just didn\u2019t do a good enough job [in 2024-25].\u201d \u2013 Brooks Koepka<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited just to \u2013 maybe a little bit antsy to get to Thursday just so I can get back to playing golf and that\u2019s where I feel the most comfortable. But I was definitely nervous just for this [media session],\u201d Koepka said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing guys, I was kind of overwhelmed at the text messages that I received from guys, guys on both sides and \u2026 it meant a lot to me. And like I said, I\u2019m grateful, I\u2019m excited and I just want to get back to playing golf.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is the next question hovering over Koepka. He won five times on LIV but his 2025 season was flat. He managed just two top-10 finishes last year and missed the cut in three of the four major championships.<\/p>\n
On a macro level, this is about the ongoing tension between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. On a more fundamental level, though, it\u2019s about whether Koepka can rediscover the game that separated him for several years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just didn\u2019t play good last year. I don\u2019t think, maybe the end of \u201924, just wasn\u2019t playing that great,\u201d Koepka said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to put an excuse on anything else other than I\u2019m the one holding the club, I\u2019m the one who\u2019s got to execute everything and I just didn\u2019t do a good enough job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Torrey Pines, in all of its natural splendor, offers Koepka a fresh start he was never certain he might have.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Global Golf Post LLC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooks Koepka says he\u2019s \u201csuper grateful\u201d to be back on the PGA Tour.\u00a0 Orlando Ramirez, Getty Images LA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[18939,190006,427,10658,3332,99],"class_list":["post-435552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-brooks-koepka","tag-farmers-insurance-open","tag-golf","tag-liv-golf","tag-pga-tour","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}